


Bring Him Home

by ConeyIslandBlitz



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Match Girl Fusion, Fake Character Death, Les Misérables References, M/M, Post-Canon Fix-It, Quentin Coldwater Lives, Reunions, by which I mean Alice and Penny think Quentin died but he didn't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConeyIslandBlitz/pseuds/ConeyIslandBlitz
Summary: In which the Garbage Coven, quite literally, bring their beloved super nerd home.
Relationships: Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	Bring Him Home

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, one and all, to my first fanfiction since I gave birth to my daughter Ellie! Some tags are not 100% accurate but I am doing this on mobile so bear with me please!
> 
> I hope reading it makes you cry as much as I did thinking it up and writing it! Enjoy x

"Take her and run," was the brief instruction that came out of Quentin's mouth, one hand behind his back.

"Why, what are you doing?" came the panicked reply from Penny-23.

"Just a minor mending," Quentin casually answered as he performed the tut with his hidden hand and flung the bottle containing the Monster's sister into the now self-repairing Seam. He tried to run and catch up with Penny-23 and Alice, who'd taken him to the Mirror Realm to dispose of these Monsters to begin with, but he found himself engulfed in sparks, and the last thing he saw was Alice, distraught, crying out and reaching out for him to no avail, because she was being pulled back by Penny-23. 

Next thing Quentin knew, he was surrounded by a bitter cold, being attacked from every front by a violent blizzard. 'Is this hell?' he thought to himself, as he tried his best to keep warm. He performed a tut to find out where exactly he was; turned out he was in Antarctica. To be precise, fifty miles south of Brakebills South. He just had to try his damnedest to make it there and work out what his next step was once he'd arrived. This was one of the many moments that he lamented not being a Traveller like Penny. He started to walk.

\----------------

It was absolute chaos. There wasn't enough magic to heal Eliot from the gaping wound in his gut, inflicted by his platonic soulmate Margo. He knew that this was a necessary evil; she did it to save him from the Monster that was inhabiting his body. As he was in this moment though, he was losing a lot of blood, fading in and out of consciousness. He could vaguely feel Margo's hand in his, and with everything she had, she was willing him to survive this, goddamnit. She was forced to let go so he could get operated on, and she was left with Josh to wait until the surgery was complete. They were suddenly joined by Alice, coming in to check on Eliot while Penny went to check up on Julia, who had also taken an axe wound to the back. Margo could see that she was not okay, and asked her without hesitation, "Q didn't make it?"

Alice shook her head, failing to hold back yet another bout of tears as she let herself fall into Margo's arms and sob her little heart out. Margo was almost at a loss for what to do, but she always had a super secret soft spot for Alice, so she wrapped her arms around the devastated blonde as comfort, and they were soon joined by Josh, forming a group hug. When Kady arrived, she immediately had an idea what had happened. She didn't ask, she only joined the group hug.

\----------------

"G-g-g-goddamnit, only t-ten miles?" Quentin stuttered out loud, after losing the warmth from his fifth heat spell. He felt like he'd been walking for an eternity, and was getting all the more convinced that he was indeed in Hell, never mind Antarctica. Nonetheless, he kept going, and going, and going, all the while dreaming of being back with the gang again, back with Eliot. Eliot… the man who had conquered his heart. The man with whom he'd spent upwards of fifty idyllic years in Fillory of the past. The man with whom, during those fifty years, he had raised a son. The man whose arms he wished he could fall into once again. The man whose lips he so longed to kiss again. But here he was, trying to make his own way to Brakebills South, and he was pretty sure he was getting more and more delirious the farther he walked. There was only so many times he could perform that heat spell, and it seemed to be less and less effective each time. Nonetheless, it helped him keep going each and every time. With every heat spell, the hallucination that he was back with Eliot became more and more vivid. It was starting to feel way too real. 

Eventually, he'd reached the halfway point, and he could not go on any more; his entire body was beginning to go numb. He felt himself collapse into the snow, and his only hope now was to call for help the only way he knew how.

\-------------

Finally, Eliot was out of the operating room, and was given a good prognosis. He was going to live, he was going to be okay, his body just needed a lot of time to heal. He woke up surrounded by all of his friends, but it didn't take him long to notice that a very important someone was missing. Alice and Penny broke the news to him as gently as they could, and Alice was still just as heartbroken as she was when she'd arrived. Penny was offering a consoling hand when he inexplicably heard the out of tune rendition of Shake It Off by Taylor Swift.

"Uh, guys, I'm picking something up, I need to focus for a sec," Penny-23 said, interrupting the conversation between Eliot and Alice. He then went to meditate right there on the floor next to Eliot's bed.

_ 'Coldwater if that's really you, come in,'  _ Penny thought.

Alice and Eliot couldn't help but to watch Penny in suspense, hoping beyond hope that he had good news. They held hands, trying to keep each other calm, but failing. Penny's eyes shot open. He looked up at Alice and Eliot, and let out a breathy, relieved laugh. He got up onto his feet and said, "Alice, you look after Eliot."

"Why; where are you going?" Eliot asked nervously.

"Got a lead to follow," he answered with his characteristic brevity, and as he left the room he called out, "Margo!"

Alice and Eliot looked at each other in confusion. What lead? What did Penny mean by that? Neither of them dared to speak. All they could do was sit tight and be there for each other. Eliot made to perform the music tut, and so he and Alice heard the music begin. Eliot sang,

" _ God on high _

_ Hear my prayer _

_ In my need _

_ You have always been there _

_ He is young _

_ He's afraid _

_ Let him rest _

_ Heaven blessed…" _

Penny had taken Margo with him to Antarctica, knowing that they could both use her fairy eye to their advantage in their search, and they found themselves in close range of their loyal friend Quentin. Margo used her fairy eye to get a better view of him, and when she found him, she pointed him out to Penny and they both began to rush toward him, barely more than a black lifeless lump lying in the snow. ' _ Bring him home. Bring him home. Bring him home,'  _ was the mantra repeating itself in Penny's head.

Dean Fogg, minding his own business in his office at Brakebills, suddenly found himself singing, ' _ He's like the son I might have known _

_ If God had granted me a son. _

_ The summers die _

_ One by one _

_ How soon they fly _

_ On and on _

_ And I am old _

_ And will be gone- _

Margo and Penny reached the shivering Quentin, wrapped him in the thickest blanket they had with them, and they travelled together back to the Brakebills infirmary where Eliot and Alice were situated.

_ -Bring him peace _

_ Bring him joy _

_ He is young _

_ He is only a boy,'  _ Fogg finished singing.

Alice took over to sing, ' _ You can take _

_ You can give _

_ Let him be _

_ Let him live'  _ she felt overwhelmed with emotion as she sang, so Eliot continued for her, ' _ If I die, let me die _

_ Let him live _

_ Bring him home _

_ Bring him home-' _

Margo was first to burst into the room, quickly followed by Penny, holding Quentin in his arms, and the two of them looked so proud and smug.

_ '-Bring him home,'  _ everybody sang in harmony, as Penny laid the shivering and delirious Quentin in the bed next to Eliot's, and pushed the two beds close together. Eliot did everything he could to wrap Quentin up extra warm, and felt himself almost panic, despite getting help with this endeavour from Margo. Only when Quentin was wrapped up in six blankets with an IV drip in his arm did Eliot feel like he could relax a little. 

"Thank you for staying with me, Alice," Eliot whispered, tears flooding his eyes.

"Of course. It's what Q would have done, for both of us. I'll let you be alone with him," Alice said, equally tearful and squeezing Eliot's hand once more, before beckoning Margo and Penny to follow her as she got up off Eliot's bed and left the room. Margo went to hug Eliot and reassure him, "Our super nerd king is gonna be okay, El. I promise," and she took her leave with a kiss to Eliot's cheek, while Penny went to Quentin and whispered in his ear, "You did it, bro. You figured it out. You saved the fuckin world. And you survived. Be proud of that," and he patted Quentin's shoulder, giving a solemn nod in Eliot's direction before he left.

A long silence followed, but Eliot was okay with that. He had his once and hopefully future husband back. He went to stroke Quentin's cheek, which was ice cold.

"Holy shit, Q," Eliot thought out loud as he tried his best to pull Quentin and himself closer together, severely impaired by the pain in his abdomen, but he was determined to reunite with his soulmate once and for all. Once he had finally gotten himself comfortable holding Quentin, he fell asleep, with their foreheads touching. 

Two mornings later, dawn broke, and a grunt escaped Quentin's lips. He struggled to open his eyes, but he could feel the weight of Eliot's arm around him, and he thought he'd made it to heaven. With Eliot. He inhaled deeply, savouring the moment, and let out a contented sigh. Before he could stop himself, his lips were on Eliot's, stealing the gentlest of kisses. He could feel Eliot's hand slide up his arm, resting on his neck and he was pulled in for a deeper kiss which lasted a sweet eternity. They slowly broke the kiss, and were able to look one another in the eye once more. Quentin smiled the biggest smile since he witnessed Eliot break through his possession.

"Peaches and plums, motherfucker," he said, knowing that Eliot would know what he was referring to. Eliot chuckled fondly, stroking Quentin's now thoroughly warmed up cheek.

"Peaches and plums, Q. I love you so much."

"I love you too, El. Always have, always will," Quentin replied, going straight in for a kiss which couldn't even hold a matchstick to the magnitude of how much he'd missed Eliot. He kissed Eliot with a desperation comparable to a stranded man in the desert who'd finally found a flowing oasis to drink from.

They were interrupted by a visitor clearing her throat; it was Alice, looking as awkward as ever. Quentin immediately felt guilty.

"Alice, I-" Quentin started, but she held her hand up, telling him to stop.

"No apologies, Q. I love you, but I know you two are in love. And truly, the most important thing to me is seeing you happy," Alice explained, and as Quentin nodded and gave a relieved 'thank you', she began to tear up, "Q, I thought I saw you die! I just-" she cleared her throat, "I have so many questions, but mostly I'm just glad you're okay."

Quentin sighed and chuckled, simply saying, "so am I."

"Come here, you," Eliot said, himself and Quentin both beckoning her over for a group hug. Quentin sat up, and helped Eliot to sit up, so they could make room for Alice on their makeshift double bed. She chuckled as she sat down between the two and allowed herself to be engulfed in their arms.

As the day passed, the gang all gradually reunited, and everything was back to the way it should always be. Everyone in the room realised just how important Quentin was to them, and that without him, they probably wouldn't be a gang at all.

"Hail, King Quentin… the Brave," Margo said, holding up a plastic beaker full of apple juice. Everybody raised their beakers, and said in unison, "to King Quentin the Brave."

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know your thoughts, guys!


End file.
